Fairytales Unlimited
by Miss Takin
Summary: The short tale of two knights, a kidnapped princess, an unhappily betrothed couple, two indecisive dukes, and the scandalous sidestories of kitchen maids and squires for your entertainment. Presenting, Fairytales Unlimited. 02, AU
1. Day 1: A Kidnapping

**_Title:_**_ Fairytales Unlimited_

**_Author:_**_ Miss Takin_

**_Summary:_**_ The short tale of two knights, a kidnapped princess, an unhappily betrothed couple, two indecisive dukes, and the scandalous sidestories of kitchen maids and squires for your entertainment. Presenting, Fairytales Unlimited_

**_Chapter: _**_Day 1: The Kidnapping  
_

**_A/N: _**_Updated version of Day 1. A few changes here and there, nothing drastic.  
_

**_Disclaimer:_**_ Toei owns Digimon and all related names, characters, items and locations. I don't. Also, don't expect me to be all historically correct. If someone does something that was impossible in the feudal era, just let it be._

_

* * *

_

The castle was still. The only ones not asleep on this night were the mice in the kitchen, who were searching for any crumb they could find.

But there was a shadow moving around outside the castle, a sinister presence that left a chill in its wake. The shadow found its way up the castle walls and looked through the windows to see if the rooms inside the castle held what it was looking for. On one of the uppermost floors, he found it.

There she was, sprawled peacefully beneath the blankets, her red hair fanning out on her pillow. She was an angel, the perfect young woman. She was the princess.

The window clicked open and the shadow slipped inside.

A fraction of a scream echoed through the castle before Princess Sora simply disappeared without a trace.

* * *

Sir Taichi Yagami was one of the best knights in the Takenouchi Kingdom, and he knew this for a fact. The king himself had told him so in person recently, after he had led a small army into battle against an enemy country and won almost single-handedly. Taichi had confidence in what he was about to do. That is, he had confidence before he entered the king's throne room.

Taichi looked up and saw the one man he had hoped not to see. Sir Yamato Ishida was the only other knight in the kingdom who could challenge his title as "The Best," and therefore, Taichi did not like him. The blond knight, who regarded Taichi with little more than disgust as he walked in, easily reciprocated this feeling.

"Sir Taichi?" the king said, nodding. His eyes barely had any of the life that Taichi remembered was there and he slumped a little in his throne.

"Your Highness," Taichi began, kneeling down, "I would like to be granted permission to lead a small army for the recovery of your daughter, the princess."

The king sighed. "I have just been speaking with Sir Yamato on this very matter."

Taichi glared across at Yamato, who was kneeling as well. The blond was always trying to outdo him.

"Your Highness, I assure you that for the love of the royal family and the love of my country, I am ready to carry out this task and bring your daughter home safely," he said, in hopes that it would win the king over.

King Takenouchi gave a pained laugh. "Almost an exact repeat of what Sir Yamato has just told me."

Taichi glared at the blond again, who glanced at him with an almost bored expression. Neither of them knew what to say, but each searched for the right words, knowing that the next person who said anything could be the winner.

"Your Highness, I have all the confidence that --,"

"I have already made preparations to leave," Yamato said, effectively cutting off the brunette. Taichi grunted in anger.

"Liar," he murmured.

"Excuse me?" the blond countered, looking up with those piercing eyes of his.

"You're a liar. How could you have prepared to leave if you didn't know whether or not you were actually going?" Taichi said in an accusing voice. The king watched in mild interest.

"I asked my squire to begin preparations as soon as I heard that the princess was missing. I wish to save her out of my love for the royal family, not out of some quest for heroism," Yamato shot at him, glaring with full force.

"Quest for heroism? You think that's what I'm after?" Taichi said. "I love my country and this family more than you could even dream about."

"Now _that's_ the lie."

"I'll show you a lie--,"

"Enough!"

The king looked at both of them in disapproval. "You two are my best knights" – they glared at each other again – "and you're fighting like children!" He took a moment of silence for dramatic effect, giving them both looks. "I have come to my decision. Rise, both of you."

Slowly, the two knights stood, watching the king warily in anticipation.

"I want both of you to go. If you manage not to kill each other first, you should have no trouble bringing my daughter back.

"She was taken to a small fortress in the west, just on the outside of the border to this country, and although her kidnapper has a few loyal men, they are nothing to worry about. I've been watching this man for a while, because of the suspicious activity he has stirred up in some of the villages. He could hardly be considered a threat, but he's a lunatic and his actions are unexplainable."

He looked at the two knights and he could tell from their faces that they were surprised by how much he knew. "The poor fool was decent enough to leave a ransom note," he said with a smile. "He wants to be king in exchange for returning my daughter."

Taichi and Yamato looked at each other in disbelief, briefly forgetting that they hated each other.

"Now, I wish I could send you two with at least a few men, but the King of Oikawa has been eyeing my land, and I simply cannot afford to let any more men go, despite the pain I feel from the loss of my daughter. I hope that you two will make haste in retrieving her."

The two knights nodded in unison.

"You are free to go."

They turned to leave, not saying anything until they had left the room.

As soon as the doors closed behind them, they turned on one another furiously.

"I can't believe you had the gall to call me a liar!"

"Well, that's what you are!"

"You can ask my squire!"

"Maybe I will!"

They turned away and stormed off in opposite directions, each trying to make his steps louder than the other's.

* * *

"Daisuke!"

"What?" Daisuke said defensively, tearing his eyes away from the derriere of the kitchen maid who had bent over to get something out of the stove.

Takeru rolled his eyes as the kitchen maid stood up and shook her head to get the hair out of her face. She smiled at them and walked over to place the object she had just taken out of the stove in front of them on the table.

"Here's your pie," she said. "I made it just for you two, so you better finish it all."

"Thanks, Hikari," Takeru said, grabbing a knife and fork and digging in.

Daisuke did the same. "I am _so_ hungry. Your brother's been working me to the bone, Hikari. I didn't think this would be so hard."

Hikari laughed. "You're a squire; of course it's going to be hard. Especially being _his_ squire. You should've listened to me when I told you how much work it was going to be," she lectured.

"But I do get to be the squire to one of the best knights in the country."

"Too bad you couldn't be the squire to one of the best knights in the country _and_ one of the calmest," Takeru teased. Daisuke mocked him with a frown.

Suddenly, the door to the garden opened with a slam and all three jumped.

"Daisuke! Pack up my horse, I'm leaving."

Taichi began to stalk away and Daisuke got up to follow him quickly.

"Where are we going?" he asked, trailing behind the knight eagerly.

"You're not going anywhere. _Sir Yamato_ and I are going to save the princess. You are staying here."

"Why?" Daisuke asked immediately, not minding his manners around his knight.

"Because fate hates me," Taichi replied. "Now go pack up my things."

"Is Takeru going with Yamato?" Daisuke asked. "Because he already packed up all of their things this morning."

Taichi stopped and turned to look at him, letting out a frustrated sound which almost resembled a squeak as he did so. "Leave me alone!" he said, flailing his hands in mild fury and a touch of defeat. "Just go pack my stuff!"

The knight stomped off and Daisuke started walking back toward the kitchen, slouching in disappointment as he went.

"And get me a piece of that pie while you're at it!" Taichi called. Daisuke sighed.

* * *

Early that evening, Taichi and Yamato were saying their final farewells at the gate of the castle as they prepared to leave. Daisuke and Takeru were pretending to do a last check on the horses as they murmured to each other, making the odd joke about the two knights tearing each other apart on their journey. Taichi and Yamato's prowess was renown throughout the kingdom, but only those who were close to the two knights knew exactly how they felt about each other.

When the moment came, Yamato hoisted himself up onto his gray stallion, and Taichi did the same on his own sandy-colored steed, and then they were off. The castle slowly disappeared behind them as they traveled on the trail heading westward, slower now that no one was there to see them.

"You know, it's your fault that we're in this mess," Yamato finally said, breaking the silence.

"Oh? And how is that?" Taichi asked, feeling insulted just from being addressed by the blond.

"You started that argument in the throne room. I'm sure he decided this would be our punishment," Yamato said pompously.

"By sending us to save his daughter?" Taichi said sarcastically.

"By sending us to save his daughter alone together," Yamato replied.

"Yeah, well… whatever," Taichi said. Yamato shook his head and turned away and they continued on, down the trail.

* * *

Sora woke up in a room that was obviously not her own. First of all, the bed felt as if it was made of rock, and the walls had absolutely no decorations to be seen. It wasn't that she couldn't have lived in these conditions, but she liked her room for the fact that she knew where it was located.

Touching the area of her head that pained her, she suddenly remembered what had happened the night before. She had been knocked out and kidnapped. At that revelation, she let out an offended gasp.

Sora got up, stormed across the very small room and went to fling open the door, only to find that it was locked. She pulled on it vigorously a few times, determined to get it opened, before someone opened it for her. She took a couple steps back in surprise.

"Finally awake, Princess?" the guard asked, a frightening smile on his face as he stood in the doorway.

Sora regained her composure and stood up straight. "Yes, I am, and it would be nice to know where exactly it is that I have woken up," she said to him sternly.

"I'm afraid that's a bit too much to ask," he replied. He went to close the door.

"You wait one minute!" she said. She didn't like to boss people around, but desperate times…

"What is it?" he asked rudely.

"I can tolerate you closing this door, but I have to protest against it being locked," she said in her best princess voice.

"And what are you going to do about it?"

Sora glared at him. "I'm capable of a lot more than you think," she said.

"Like what?" he asked skeptically.

"My father had me trained to use a sword, you know. He didn't like taking chances."

The guard laughed.

"What's the point of locking it if you don't even think I'm a threat? Are you scared of me?" she asked, bewildered.

"No," he spat back.

"Then why lock it?"

He must have been particularly stupid, because after a few moments, he relented. "Fine, I won't lock it. But don't try anything."

She sighed in agreement and he closed the door, leaving it unlocked. Sora immediately sat down on the floor and began doing her best to break off one of the legs of the wooden bedframe.

* * *

"Jyou, what are you doing?"

Jyou jumped and looked around, only to let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, Iori, it's just you. I was afraid it was someone else…"

Iori stepped a little closer and looked at the horse that Jyou was placing saddlebags on. "Are you going somewhere?" he asked.

Jyou looked at him again, this time in surprise. "Of course I am. Didn't you hear? Princess Sora's been kidnapped, I have to go save her."

"Yes, I heard that," Iori said slowly, "and I also heard that the king sent out his two best knights to get her."

Jyou shook his head. "The king's two best knights don't love her like I do."

"Jyou, the king's two best knights are still going to do a much better job at getting her back than you would."

He looked down at him, and then back at the saddlebags. "You know, you're right," he said. "But I don't feel like it would be right for me to just sit here and wait for her to come back on the arm of one of those knights."

"If I know Princess Sora, she'll be dragging those two knights behind her, broken and battered," Iori said with a laugh. "Besides, your engagement is still a secret. All you're going to do by riding off to your doom is raise suspicion. No one's going to look down on you for not going, especially not Sora and the king."

Jyou nodded. "I just hope she gets home safely."

* * *

Hikari hated cleaning dishes.

Unfortunately for her, she was almost always the last one in the kitchen cleaning the grungiest dishes. It had a lot to do with the fact that out of all the senior kitchen maids, she happened to be the youngest. It didn't help that she was also a "freethinker" and could be caught saying things ladies should never say.

So here she was, scrubbing a pan for all she was worth, while everyone else prepared for bed.

The door opened behind her, letting in the last few rays of sunlight that peeked over the horizon. She shook her head in dismay.

"Daisuke and Takeru, I told you guys that if you want me to make something for you, come back _after_ I've finished cleaning up. I don't have the time right now," she said.

There was no other answer but footsteps, and she paused in her scrubbing for a moment just before she felt two warm hands on her shoulders. She turned a little.

"Ken," she breathed out, a ghost of a smile appearing on her face.

He didn't say anything, but slowly lowered his head until their lips touched, just for an instant, before pulling away.

She dropped the dish and the sponge and hastily wiped her hands on her apron before throwing her arms around his neck. "I can't believe it!" she exclaimed. "I thought Sir Osamu was sent with a message to the Oikawa Kingdom, I thought you were still gone…"

He shook his head with a smile. "We came back earlier than expected. In fact, I just finished putting the horses back in the stable," he told her. He kissed her again, a little longer this time, and she lifted herself up on her toes to keep him there.

When they parted again, she took a few deep breaths and looked him up and down. His indigo hair was still a little windblown and his clothes looked more than a little worn. Just the way she liked him. "Come back to my quarters with me," she said, just above a whisper.

Ken broke into a smile. "I can't, not tonight," he told her. "I have to report back… there's too many things to do."

"Please," she begged. "You've been gone so long; it's the least you could do."

Ken shook his head. "We shouldn't even do such things without being married. It's bad enough that we carry on like this. I cannot do that, it's a matter of honor as well as love."

"Then talk to my father!" Hikari said. "He's not that protective of me, I'm sure he'll be fine with it."

Ken smiled again. "Later," he told her. "We're still young, Hikari, and I really think we should enjoy it while it lasts. But I promise you that I will talk to your father. Just not now."

Hikari looked up at him with an uneasy frown and he let out a laugh.

"Don't look at me like that," he teased, "a pout on those lips could stop an army if it needed to," he said before kissing it away. "I'll see you tomorrow. Right now I have work to do. With that, he resisted the urge to kiss her again and turned to walk away. Hikari watched him leave and then went back to scrubbing dishes, but with a smile on her face now in spite of herself.

* * *

"The sun is setting," Yamato said, staring at the darkening sky.

"Really?" Taichi asked sarcastically.

"Yes, really," Yamato shot back. "I think it's time we set up camp for the night."

Taichi pouted. "Well I say we keep going," he said.

Yamato rolled his eyes. "You're only saying that because I think we should stop."

"So what if I am?"

Yamato sighed in frustration before bringing his horse to a stop and then dismounting. Taichi turned to look at him.

"It's not even completely dark out yet," Taichi said. "The further we ride today, the sooner we get to the princess."

"Unfortunately, if we are _tired_ when we march in to rescue her, we may just get killed," Yamato told him, leading his horse to the side of the road and into the forest. Taichi followed him.

"I haven't been killed yet, and I don't plan to any time soon. We're not going to get killed just because we're a little drowsy. That's what adrenaline's for," Taichi reasoned, dismounting.

"Well I'm not going to go in there with nothing to rely on but my adrenaline," Yamato said as he took off the armor on his chest, which he had worn more for ceremony than anything else. Taichi watched in dismay as the blond relieved his horse of the saddlebags before lifting his armor and then his cotton shirt over his head and packing them away.

"Pfft, you're so skinny. How do you survive being nothing but a twig?" he asked.

"I'm not skinny, I'm _healthy_," Yamato replied. "At least I don't have a gut on me, like some people."

"Hey, this is all muscle!" Taichi exclaimed, patting his stomach proudly.

"Yeah, it's all muscle… lining your gut."

"Well… punch me if you're so sure!" Taichi said, throwing his armor and his shirt onto the ground.

Yamato looked up and down his upper body in disgust, but he had to admit that the other man wasn't your average knight. There was a bit of definition on his arms and chest that Yamato couldn't help but notice.

"I'm not going to punch you in the stomach," he said.

"Why not?"

"Because despite my urge to beat you to a pulp right here and now, you will be my only ally when we go to rescue the princess, and I'm not one to put myself at a disadvantage, especially considering the huge disadvantage we already have," Yamato explained. With a few calming breaths, he took the roll of blankets off from where it was lashed to the saddlebags, and he began laying out his bed. Taichi started taking off the armor on his legs and did the same.

"You're lucky to be working with me," he muttered.

Yamato rolled his eyes, packed away the rest of his armor and lay down in a cold silence, his back turned to Taichi as the brunette was laying out his own blankets.

"Fine then," he said to himself, and he lay down much in the same fashion.

* * *

It had taken a few hours for Sora to get the leg of the bed finally broken off. She had had to wait for her dinner to come, and then after taking one slurp of the disgusting soup, she had taken the blunt knife and begun hacking away at the bed. Now, she had something like a blunt stake and she put it down across from her on the floor as she wondered what she could do with it.

Judging by the light, or lack thereof, coming from her tiny window, the sun had just recently set. Sora thought about the guard at her door and whether there would be another one to watch all night long. In the end, she supposed it didn't really matter. Whoever was there would suffer what was to come.

Sora tiptoed to the door and listened for any sign of life outside. She held her blunt stake to her chest, taking a few deep breaths. Quietly, she opened the door and seeing that she had indeed been assigned a night guard, she opened the door further and just as he turned to see her, she whacked him on the head, trying not to make too much noise as she did so.

She flinched as he fell to the floor, but then quickly mobilized into action. She dragged him into her room and shut the door as soon as she could. Stepping back for a few seconds in disgust, she slowly began to peel off the outermost layer of his clothes.

She flipped him over on his stomach (because his face was scaring her a little) and then she took off her nightgown and replaced it with the pants, cotton shirt, and small bit of armor he had been wearing on his shoulders and chest.

Satisfied with a job well done, Sora took her piece of wood and crept out of the room quietly, unleashing herself on the fortress. As she ducked around corner after corner, the one thought on her mind was that there would be Hell to pay for kidnapping Princess Sora Takenouchi.


	2. Day 2: Girls Will Be Girls

**_Title:_**_ Fairytales Unlimited_

**_Author:_**_ Miss Takin_

**_Summary:_**_ The short tale of two knights, a kidnapped princess, an unhappily betrothed couple, two indecisive dukes, and the scandalous sidestories of kitchen maids and squires for your entertainment. Presenting, Fairytales Unlimited_

**_Chapter: _**_Day 2: Girls Will Be Girls  
_

**_A/N:_**_ Updated version of Day 2. Biggest change is in the scene with Princess Mimi.  
_

**_Disclaimer:_**_ Toei owns Digimon and all related names, characters, items and locations. I don't. Also, don't expect me to be all historically correct. If someone does something that was impossible in the feudal era, just let it be.

* * *

_

As the first rays of sunlight made their way through the trees, Taichi and Yamato slowly stirred into consciousness. It had been a relatively warm night, so both of them had shed their blankets in their sleep, but now they awoke to find the cool morning a bit of a shock to their bare skin.

Taichi slowly blinked and glanced around before sitting up. He looked around in confusion for a moment.

"Where are the horses?" he asked.

"Huh?" Yamato said sleepily, rubbing his eyes.

"I said, 'where are the horses?'. They're not here," Taichi said, starting to panic. He got up and grabbed the saddlebags, looking through his own. "We haven't been robbed, everything's still here." Then he looked up and spotted the branch that the reins had been tied to, or rather the lack of that branch. It had broken off.

Yamato sat up. "The horses are gone," he said.

"That's what I just said."

Yamato stood up and rubbed his arms. "What are we going to do?" he said. "If we have no horses, how are we going to get to the princess?"

Taichi looked at him, and they stared at each other in shock for a moment before Yamato finally said, "we're going to have to walk."

Taichi sighed and picked up his saddlebags, and together they walked back toward the road.

* * *

"Ugh, I am _so_ bored."

"Me too."

The two boys sulked in the garden, Daisuke laying on the ground and Takeru sitting on a rock near him.

Hikari rolled her eyes. "Perhaps you should be thankful for your time off, now that they're gone," she said. She had just recently escaped from doing laundry and was sitting in the dirt with them.

"But it's so boring," Daisuke replied. "At least I have stuff to do when Sir Taichi is around."

Takeru murmured in agreement.

"You two always find _something_ to complain about," Hikari said, shaking her head.

Takeru murmured again.

"I think I should be getting back. They'll notice soon that I'm gone."

Hikari got up and dusted off her skirts, composing herself and then walking off.

"Wait, where are you going?" Takeru asked, looking up at her in confusion. "The laundry rooms are in the other direction."

"Huh?" Hikari asked, panic creeping into her expression.

"Yeah, and you never worry about what they think," Daisuke chimed in.

"Well, maybe I'm looking for a little more respect around here, unlike you two," she countered, standing up as straight as she could.

"By going off in the direction of the squires' quarters?" Takeru said with a smirk.

Hikari gasped at the insult. "I can't believe you would dare insinuate such a thing," she said, turning on her heels with a hint of defeat. "Goodbye."

Daisuke looked from Takeru to Hikari and back again, not fully understanding. "What? What is it?"

"It's nothing," Takeru said, "go back to your nap."

"But I want to know!"

"It's Hikari's business, let her get in trouble for it," Takeru said to him in a patronizing tone that he was so used to taking with the brunette.

Daisuke scowled at him, but lay back down with his eyes closed and fell asleep quickly as Takeru thought about his recent discovery and wondered which of the other squires living in the castle could be Hikari's lover.

* * *

Jyou bit his nails as he sat at the table. He was having Iori over for brunch in his small castle, but he could barely keep his mind on his guest.

"She's been gone for more than a day now," he said.

Iori nodded. "I'm sure Sir Yamato and Sir Taichi are well on their way to saving her by now. They might even be on their way back."

Jyou crossed his arms. "I just-- I don't feel right doing nothing," he said. "I feel like I should be out there helping her. Maybe I could unpack my old sword…"

"Jyou, we are dukes. We rule over our pieces of land – however small they may be – and we do not go out and fight wars and save damsels unless the king asks us to," Iori said matter-of-factly. "You know the king likes you. That is probably precisely why he didn't ask you to go out and do the dirty work."

"You really think the king likes me?"

Iori sighed. "Why would he let you marry his daughter if he didn't? A king's got to be picky about these things, Jyou. I'm sure he took more than a second glance at you and in the end, it's to you who he's looking forward to giving his place on the throne."

"I guess so…"

Iori sighed in frustration and sat back in his chair. He supposed that maybe it was useless trying to cheer up his friend while Princess Sora was away, so he gave up and went back to his brunch.

* * *

Hikari sighed and snuggled in closer to Ken's bare chest.

"I'm sorry for leaving you for so long," Ken mumbled into her hair.

"I think that was apology enough," Hikari replied with a smirk. She pulled away and looked up into his eyes, taking in all she could of his post-coital beauty.

The squires' quarters were two beds to a room – an upgrade from the maids' quarters, which were four beds – and Ken had managed to lock the door after they had found themselves alone in there, so now they lay in his bed, serene and without a care in the world.

That was, until Hikari glanced out the window and saw how high the sun was.

"It's almost lunch time! They're going to come looking for me!"

Hikari was thrown into a panic as she leapt out of bed and gathered up her clothes. Ken watched her with a smile. "I'm sure they won't mind if you're just a bit late," he said.

"Oh, but this is lunch time. That's the time when all the knights and squires in the castle suddenly realize that they haven't eaten since breakfast, and even all the maids in the kitchen at once isn't enough to keep them satisfied," she said. She hastily tied her apron on, rushed over to give him a quick kiss, and then flew out the door in a flurry.

Ken sighed and began looking around for his own clothes. As he did so, he couldn't help but smile fondly to himself.

* * *

Taichi slowly chewed on his piece of bread as they trudged along the trail, both men looking tired and defeated.

"So… what are we going to do once we save her?" Taichi asked, glancing over at the blond.

"What do you mean?" Yamato said, barely taking an interest.

"Well, I'm assuming that you wanted to do this because you want to marry her."

Yamato looked over at him skeptically. "I guess you could say that," he said. "Didn't really think about that before. Is that why you're doing this?"

Taichi shrugged defensively. "Maybe, maybe not…" he said. "I was just wondering if that turned out to be both of our goals, what would we do once we saved her?"

Yamato gave him a sly grin. "Well, I could always just kill you," he told him.

"Wha--," Taichi stopped in shock. "I know you hate me and everything, but would you really kill me?"

Yamato rolled his eyes and kept walking. "I don't hate you."

Now Taichi thought he was just messing with his head, and he jogged to catch up to the blond. "Are you serious?"

"Yes," Yamato said, now looking him in the eye. "I don't hate you, Taichi, never did. And I won't unless you do something really stupid."

Taichi pouted. "Well now I feel guilty," he said.

"Why?"

"Because I've passionately hated you for all of these years under the assumption that you hated me as well."

Yamato shrugged. "I guess there's more than meets the eye."

Taichi processed this for a moment, but before he could venture any further, they heard wagon wheels approaching from behind. The two knights turned to see the source of the sound.

It turned out to be more than one wagon, and in fact there were many lavish and extravagant wagons all in a row. As they kept moving up the trail, Taichi and Yamato could only gaze in awe at each new piece of the procession that came into view.

"I wonder who…"

"Let's find out, they might be able to get us to where we're going faster," Yamato said, and he started walking to the first wagon in the long line.

"Excuse me," he said, jogging beside the wagon, "are you continuing along this trail for very long?"

The man who held the reins nodded. "We are. But you'll have to ask the passengers if they want guests or not."

Just as he said this, a young woman with long lilac hair pulled back into a braid stuck her head out of the window.

"Princess Mimi has requested that you stop so that she may speak to these travelers," she said.

The man sighed and held up his hand to signal the drivers behind him, before bringing the horses to a stop. The girl with lilac hair stepped out and behind her, another young woman came out of the carriage. Her honey colored hair curled gracefully at her shoulders, and her smile was enough to dazzle both Yamato and Taichi into stunned silence.

"Hello!" she greeted them excitedly.

They smiled and nodded in reply.

"I suppose you two are looking for a ride?" she said, continuing to smile. Suddenly she giggled. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that, I just…"

"Didn't mean it like what?" Taichi asked. Yamato brought his hand up to his forehead in embarrassment. Mimi looked a little annoyed with Taichi and rolled her eyes subtly.

"Well, in the way you did mean it, I suppose we are," Yamato said pleasantly, throwing a glare at Taichi. "We're knights, and we're looking to get to the border."

"Oh, did you hear that Miyako? They're knights!" she said to the young woman, who nodded happily. "Would you please tell Prince Koushiro that we're taking on some guests for the time being?"

The last sentence lacked the excitement and glee that the others had contained, but Taichi and Yamato were in no place to ask who Prince Koushiro was. Instead, they followed her into the carriage, which proved to have two rooms: a main seating area, and a back room that neither Taichi nor Yamato were meant to see. A redhead was seated at the front of the carriage, next to Miyako, but he didn't even seem to notice them as they stepped through the door. He was preoccupied with a small wooden structure he held in his hand, which he appeared to be piecing together with the help of a knife to shave the wood to fit. This, as the two knights quickly deduced, was Prince Koushiro.

"Please, make yourself at home," Mimi said, donning another wide smile and gesturing to a bench. The knights sat down and glanced at each other, both suddenly getting that sinking feeling in their stomachs which told them to turn back. As the carriage gave a jerk and they began moving down the road, both knew that it was too late.

* * *

Hikari hated washing dishes.

Lunch had come and gone, and because she had been late getting to the kitchen to help, she had been punished with cleaning more than her usual share of dishes. That left her alone now, with nothing but a sponge and a large pile of dirty plates for company.

The door to the garden opened and she turned to see who it was. It was Takeru, with a sly grin that she had never seen before on his face.

"What is it? You've already had lunch, haven't you?" she asked suspiciously. He nodded.

"I just came by because I was wondering why you were so late," he said with a confident air about him.

Hikari scoffed. "I don't need you snooping around in my business," she said. "It's not like you have any right to be…"

She stopped speaking and gasped. She put one hand to her stomach and the other over her mouth. "Excuse me," she mumbled behind her hand, rushing out of the kitchen and into the garden just in time to spill the contents of her stomach into the far end of a flower bed.

Takeru ran to the door in concern. "Hikari? Are you alright?" he asked, gripping the doorframe.

Hikari shook her head. "Don't worry. I must have caught something from one of the other maids… they tend to get sick while they're cleaning up…"

Takeru walked over to her and held her shoulders. "Hikari, you have to think about another possibility."

Hikari shook her head. "No, I can't be," she said. "I just can't."

Takeru sighed. "Hikari, when is the last time that you…" he found this incredibly awkward, but as a close friend, he knew it had to be said. "I know that you've been with one of the squires recently. Just tell me when."

Hikari rolled her eyes pompously. "Well it was this morning, if you really must know," she told him.

"I have to say I saw that coming," he said. "But what about before that."

Hikari bit her lip and her eyes widened. "It started months ago, but I… Oh no. No, no, no, no, no. I am not ready to deal with this."

Hikari stormed past him and was about to go back into the kitchen when a smooth voice stopped her.

"Hikari."

She looked at Ken, who had just come into the garden and had a lady-killer smile on his face that made her melt.

"Did I come at a bad time?" he asked, looking from her to Takeru. Takeru's mouth was hanging open in understanding.

"I'm just washing dishes," Hikari said with a false smile.

"It's awfully late…"

"I know," she said with a forced laugh. "The senior maids are punishing me for being late again. I'll see you later, alright?"

Ken nodded with a concealed smirk, looked back at Takeru and turned to go. Hikari continued storming back into the kitchen.

"Ken? Really?" Takeru said with a laugh.

"He's a very attractive man," Hikari countered. "I wouldn't expect you to appreciate that."

Takeru shook his head, amused.

"How am I going to tell him…?" Hikari said to herself as she viciously scrubbed a dish clean.

"What's going to happen to Daisuke?" Takeru wondered aloud.

"Daisuke?" Hikari asked, turning to face him again.

Takeru nodded. "Yeah. He thinks he's in love with you. I thought you knew?"

Hikari dropped the sponge and stared at him with her mouth hanging open as she shook her head slowly. "Takeru, you can't expect me to… I can't believe…"

"I probably shouldn't have told you that," Takeru said, upon further reflection.

Hikari let out an angry groan. "I can't deal with this right now. You should go."

"But, Hikari --"

"Please, Takeru."

He stood in the kitchen for a moment as she leaned over the sink, staring into the filthy water. As he opened his mouth to say something, she plunged both hands back into the pile of dishes and scrubbed them clean, one by one, with less vigor than usual. Closing his mouth again, Takeru let out a silent sigh and turned to leave.

* * *

Sora glanced around the corner warily, knowing full well that there were guards at the door. The few that were in the fortress were searching everywhere, but there were always two or three at the door, waiting for her to try and escape. Sora still had her weapon with her, but she knew that taking three guards on at once would be a stretch, and these guards would see her coming.

In her preoccupation with figuring out how to deal with the guards, she failed to hear the footsteps coming around the corner behind her.

"Hey! It's you!"

Sora gasped, and without a second thought, she clubbed him over the head just as she had done to the other guard. The armor clanging against the stone floors when the man fell was enough to alert the guards at the door, so Sora moved to get out of there as quickly as possible.

But, she thought after noticing the sword at the fallen man's hip, it might help to have a weapon that was at least a little bit intimidating, instead of the less-than-deadly piece of wood she had been carrying around. Reaching a decision, she grabbed the sword and ran off into the fortress again, hoping she wouldn't have to bring another man to his untimely end.

* * *

Yamato glanced over at Taichi and found him sleeping with his arms crossed, his head thrown back, and his mouth wide open. The blond sighed in boredom.

"Would you like something to read?"

He looked up at the young woman who had nearly blended in with the background. She was smiling up at him with warm eyes, her hands resting on the pages of a leather-bound book in her lap.

"No, that's alright," he said, eyeing her suspiciously. He had thought she was just Mimi's personal maid, but the fact that she could read threw him off that track.

She watched him and giggled quietly. "Princess Mimi demanded that I be taught how to read in her place when I expressed my interest in the castle's library. They still taught her of course, but she only allowed it when I attended the lessons with her. I'm very blessed to have been assigned to her. She's wonderful, don't you think?"

Yamato glanced at the door, beyond which the Princess and Prince Koushiro had retired earlier. "I really couldn't say. She seems very pleasant, based on my first impression."

Miyako's smile gained a bit of mischief. "She's a little on edge lately, because of Prince Koushiro," she told him in a low voice. "She doesn't want to be here, with him."

"Then why are they married?" Yamato asked, leaning over so that she could hear him. "Politics?"

Miyako nodded. "The Tachikawa and Izumi countries have had a few differences over the years, so the current kings decided to marry their children in order to bring a bit more peace. Those two have been betrothed to each other since they were born, whether they like it or not. And Mimi certainly doesn't like it."

Yamato gave a light sigh. "Sometimes, I'm glad I'm not royalty."

"Seeing what Princess Mimi's going through, I know it can be frustrating, but a girl can still dream…" Miyako said before she glanced back down at her book. "So why do you two need to get to the border?"

Yamato threw a look back at his partner and cringed a little at the light snoring that had started up while he had been talking. "We have to save our princess. She's been kidnapped."

Miyako clapped her hands together excitedly. "That is so romantic!" she exclaimed, before realizing how loud she had been as Taichi gave a particularly loud snort.

"I suppose it is…"

"But wait, there are two of you," Miyako stated. "How can there be two of you?"

Yamato gave her a clueless look. "What do you mean?"

"Well, in the stories, the knight always saves the princess, and then they get married and live happily ever after. How will you decide who gets the girl?"

Yamato stared at Miyako's curious face for a moment, thinking back to what he and Taichi had been discussing shortly before they were picked up. "Somehow, I don't think that's what either of us wants, as strange as it sounds. But if Taichi wants to marry her, then I would be fine with that."

The knight was surprised at the way his tone betrayed him. He couldn't understand – he had no special feelings for the Princess, so why did he sound so bitter at the thought of Taichi marrying her?

Suddenly, the door separating them from the betrothed couple swung open and Princess Mimi came out, a sour look on her face.

"Miyako, I don't know what to do. All he does is curl up as close as he can to the edge of the bed and then he falls asleep without even saying goodnight! I'm about to go insane! You know, it wouldn't hurt just to _cuddle_ with me once in a while."

Yamato felt the urge to melt into the wall. He really shouldn't have heard any of what the Princess had said. It was much too personal.

Miyako giggled as Mimi miserably sat down beside her. "Well, I guess you could always just tell him what you want. It can't hurt, can it?"

"He's always fiddling with his little 'inventions'," Mimi said with disdain. "There's no way to get through to him. He's thickheaded, and I don't like him."

She appeared more like a child than ever as she sat there, pouting about her unaffectionate husband. Yamato smirked in spite of himself.

Mimi set her eyes down on the knight. "Real men are just so hard to come by these days, don't you think, Sir Yamato?"

He felt a little embarrassed now, and his voice fell into a distant tone in an attempt to take her attention away from him. "I wouldn't know," he told her.

"Oh, come now, don't be like that," Mimi said playfully. "I bet on the inside you're just a big cuddly teddy bear."

Yamato couldn't even stop himself before he gave Mimi one of the most shocked and confused looks he had ever given – he was a _knight_, and people didn't usually say things like that about knights, not to his knowledge. Princess Mimi and Miyako started giggling as he slowly regained his composure.

"I couldn't say, Princess. I've never been anyone's big cuddly teddy bear."

It almost hurt to say the words, and he cringed just at the thought.

"You could be mine. Goodness knows when that Prince will finally come around, if he ever does," Mimi said, her eyes alight with mischief. He was squirming uncomfortably and she seemed to revel in it.

"I'm sorry, Princess, I've got a job to do at the moment, and I'm quite committed to that right now…"

The two girls could barely hold in their bubbly laughter as the blond glanced at Taichi warily. The other knight just _wouldn't_ wake up, no matter how loud the conversation was getting.

"I'm just joking, Sir Yamato," Mimi reassured him with that sly smile. "I wouldn't want to distract you from whatever you're doing – what is that again?"

"Oh, Princess, you wouldn't believe it," Miyako cut in excitedly. "Those two are saving their princess! Isn't that romantic?"

Princess Mimi's reaction was much the same as Miyako's, and they squealed quietly to one another as Yamato felt his eyelids beginning to drop.

"Oops, I think it's past Sir Yamato's bedtime," Mimi said, shushing Miyako with another giggle. "We better quiet down, or else he might get cranky in the morning."

Yamato barely had enough energy to retort, so he settled for an uneasy frown as he finally allowed himself to nod off. He vaguely remembered wondering how much Taichi would mind if he used his shoulder for a pillow, but those thoughts vanished quickly as sleep overwhelmed him.

"Goodnight," said Miyako softly. And then it was dark.


	3. Day 3, Part I: Saviors Are Expendable

**_Title:_**_ Fairytales Unlimited_

**_Author:_**_ Miss Takin_

**_Summary:_**_ The short tale of two knights, a kidnapped princess, an unhappily betrothed couple, two indecisive dukes, and the scandalous sidestories of kitchen maids and squires for your entertainment. Presenting, Fairytales Unlimited_

**_Chapter: _**_Day 3, Part I: Saviors Are Expendable__  
_

**_A/N:_**_ Updated version of Day 3, Part I. Again, biggest changes are in the scenes with Princess Mimi.  
_

**_Disclaimer:_**_ Toei owns Digimon and all related names, characters, items and locations. I don't. Also, don't expect me to be all historically correct. If someone does something that was impossible in the feudal era, just let it be.

* * *

_

Sora had spent her night in the basement, with the rats.

The previous evening, she had been skulking around the halls – which she seemed to be getting very good at – when she had spotted two men come out of a door with some bread in their hands. Of course, it was at that point that her stomach decided to remind her that she hadn't eaten anything in an awfully long time. So, Sora had stepped through the door while no one was around, and she found herself on the staircase to the basement. Fortunately for her, the basement was where they kept all of the food, so she just helped herself and now she could think on a full stomach.

The rats weren't so bad. She had been crouching between two boxes for hours, and they hadn't bugged her one bit. She made sure to avoid aggravating them in any way, because she was scared of being bitten, but overall she was not one to jump up onto a chair and scream at any sign of vermin. No one had come down all night, but Sora thought they might come back in time for breakfast, so, long before the sun came up, she crept up the stairs and back into the mostly deserted corridors of the fortress.

Now, it was time to get back to business.

She set out to find who ruled over this place. If she could destroy the root of the problem, she could destroy the problem. And that was that.

* * *

Taichi awoke with a snort. His eyes slowly opened, anticipating the shock of sunlight, but none revealed itself and the knight frowned.

"Oh you've _got_ to be kidding me," he muttered. The warm glow of sunrise had made its way into the carriage, but Taichi hardly ever woke up before the morning was in full swing, and the only time he did was when he had to.

He tried to go back to sleep, but something in the back of his mind knew that it was too late for that. He was awake now, and he would have to deal with it.

The knight looked around at the others. Miyako had fallen asleep sitting up, her head bowed forward and her hands upon the worn pages of a book in her lap. Mimi had her head on Yamato's shoulder, snoring slightly, and the other knight's head was resting on her honey colored hair.

"Huh?" Taichi said aloud. He had thought for sure that the Princess was married, and even if she wasn't, Yamato just didn't seem the type to casually sleep in close contact with another human being.

The blond's eyes flickered open. Taichi bit his lip nervously.

"Gah!" Yamato exclaimed, jumping up and waking the Princess. "Why? What? How?" he stammered.

Mimi groaned as she rubbed her eyes and Miyako awoke with a gasp, as if she had been abruptly pulled out of a dream.

"What's wrong?" Mimi asked in frustration.

"You were sleeping on my shoulder," Yamato said, almost in a whisper.

Miyako's eyes widened in shock, and she looked from the knight to her Princess and back again in curiosity. Taichi still wasn't sure how to react.

"What's going on out here?"

The redhead, Prince Koushiro, appeared at the door, yawning. Princess Mimi's shoulders dropped and she looked away. This seemed to catch his attention.

"Is there something wrong?" he inquired, taking a step toward her.

"Why should you care?" she said, not looking at him.

"What do you mean?"

"You don't love me!" Mimi shouted at him, tears at the ready. "You never pay any attention to me! We're _married_ now, Koushiro, you're supposed to at least _talk_ to me!"

Koushiro's face began to match the tone of his hair as he began to stutter out a rebuttal, but none of it was intelligible and Mimi continued to glare at him. Yamato slowly made his way over to Taichi and nudged him. The brunette looked at him and he glanced toward the door leading outside. Taichi looked back at the fight and nodded. Quietly, the picked up their belongings and shuffled toward the door.

When Taichi opened it, the three others looked over at them, but they jumped out as quickly as possible. The last thing Yamato saw was Miyako giving him a pleasant wave before he hit the ground and stumbled.

Taichi was standing and brushing himself off as the procession continued by, carriage after carriage of Mimi's possessions making their way down the road.

"They were… kinda weird," said Taichi.

Yamato looked at him and couldn't help but give a chuckle. "Come on, let's get going."

"Alright…" Taichi replied reluctantly. He ran a hand through his wild hair and they set off, on foot once again.

* * *

"Hello Hikari!"

Hikari winced. Daisuke ran up behind her, smiling from ear to ear. His heavy footsteps on the stone floors only agitated her headache, the source of which could be attributed to many things.

"Hello Daisuke," Hikari replied meekly. Her forced smile was just as weak as her tone.

"Is there something wrong?" Daisuke asked immediately. He had a knack for worrying about people. Hikari really didn't want him worrying about her. That would only make her job harder.

"Everything's okay," Hikari told him, subconsciously rubbing her stomach.

Daisuke looked down at her hand. "Are you feeling sick?"

Hikari took a deep breath and forced her hand to remain by her side. "I'm fine," she insisted.

"Hikari."

He took hold of her wrist and she looked up into his warm eyes. Later she would blame this moment on being overemotional.

"Okay, I'll tell you, but have to promise me you won't tell anyone," she said, taking his hand and pulling him to the side of the corridor. His curiosity grew.

She took a few calming breaths, preparing herself. "Daisuke, I'm pregnant."

Daisuke's mouth moved but it didn't make any sound. The best he could get out was "wha?"

"I know, it's sudden. I didn't plan this," she said. "I can't say I really want it… but this is the way things turn out sometimes."

Daisuke searched for a response, but he just couldn't come up with one. He finally blurted out what was really on his mind. "Who's the father?" he asked.

Hikari looked away guiltily. "I have to go."

She hurried down the corridor, and Daisuke frowned in comprehension and leaned against the wall, searching himself for a broken heart. It was odd, though; that the slight aching he felt had been nothing to what he expected it to be. Daisuke decided he might have to talk to someone about this, and this someone just might have to be his best friend.

* * *

It was early in the morning. Sora could tell by the angle the sun shone through the windows.

It was early enough for most of the guards to still be asleep. Sora knew this because she hadn't seen one since she had made her way up from the basement, and she always had to duck out of sight every once in a while.

After a while of not seeing any guards, she did happen to see one wandering toward the basement, possibly for some breakfast, surprisingly without a weapon. Sora decided she would take this golden opportunity to begin her task at hand.

She jumped him.

He shouted as she knocked him over, but he held his breath as she dug her knee into his chest to keep him down and pressed the flat of her sword against his neck.

"Who rules over this fortress?" she demanded quietly. She wouldn't kill this man. There was only one man she would kill, and that would only be under extreme circumstances.

The guard looked down at the sword and back up into her face, terrified.

"I won't hurt you if you just answer my questions," she said slowly.

"It's Lord Vamdemon," he blurted out.

Sora only thought about the strange sound of his name for a moment before she continued. "Where is he?"

"He went out for the night and hasn't returned," he told her. "Probably to figure out what to do if you had actually escaped."

Sora sighed and contemplated what she should ask next. It didn't seem to do her much good, questioning this particular guard. Not in this situation, anyway.

"Look, Princess," he started, pulling back her attention. "Not a lot of us actually want to be here… personally I'm not going to bring you back to your room if I don't have to, so maybe it would be best if you just walked away."

"Why don't you leave?" she asked, dismissing the last of what he said.

He laughed. "We're a bunch of cowards, and Lord Vamdemon has more power than your father thinks. There would be consequences, severe ones, if we tried to leave."

"What if I promised you he wouldn't hurt you," she said to him, knowing full well what this promise would entail.

He gulped. "Princess, I don't know how good you are to your word, but you'd have to make me damn sure that you knew what you were doing before I would take you up on that," he said, eyeing the sword again.

"Well I got this far, didn't?" she replied with a smirk.

The guard smiled a little, but still kept glancing at the blade. "I suppose so. Do you have a plan, Princess? Or are you just playing by ear?"

"A little bit of both," she said. "Can you get the guards to leave the fortress soon?"

"Not all of the guards will be leaving. Some of them actually like working for him, but I'll get as many as I can out."

Sora nodded stood up before running down the hall. That went much better than she had expected

* * *

Takeru awoke to the incessant mumbling of a fellow squire, the same squire that shared his room, and the same squire that he really didn't feel like talking to at the moment.

"Takeru, wake up. Takeru, come on, wake up."

They didn't have to be up early if the knights they serviced didn't want them to be, and Takeru's knight was away, so there was no need to get up, nor an apparent reason. Daisuke, of course, was operating under the same conditions, but his eyes always flew open at the crack of dawn no matter what day it was.

"What is it," Takeru whined, finally struggling to open his eyes to the brunette.

"Hikari's pregnant," Daisuke stated, a worried tone in his voice.

Takeru stared up at him. He knew this already, but for his sake decided to play it off like this information was new to him.

"Really?" he said, hardly in a convincing tone.

Daisuke nodded, barely picking up on the fact that his friend was one of the worst actors in the castle. "I don't know what to do, I mean I'm sort of worried about her. She's old enough, but she's still young, you know?"

He sat down on the floor beside Takeru's bed, slouching unhappily. Takeru lazily flopped over to face him.

"You're jealous, aren't you?" he said.

"No! Well, yes… a little," Daisuke said, "but I think I can deal with it, as long as she's happy. Do you think she's happy?"

Takeru was about to say something crude, but decided that it wouldn't be a good idea. "Hard to say. I don't think she really wanted this, but it's not like she and Ken were being all that careful."

"Ken? Really?" Daisuke asked, bewildered.

"That's what I said," Takeru said tiredly.

Daisuke shook his head. "Do they even know each other that well? Is he planning to marry her?" he said furiously. "We have to fix this somehow!"

He went to get up, and Takeru started panicking. "No, Daisuke! Back off, okay? They have to deal with this on their own. Don't butt in."

Thankfully, Daisuke stopped just short of the door, and Takeru relaxed for the time being.

"Fine, but I don't have a good feeling about this," he said, sitting back down and crossing his arms.

Takeru rolled his eyes and turned over onto his other side. "I'm going back to sleep, and I suggest you do the same."

Daisuke shrugged and threw himself on his bed, but didn't bother trying to fall asleep. He had too much to think about.

* * *

The sun was high, draining Yamato and Taichi of any energy they had had at the beginning of the day.

"We'll never get there at this rate," Yamato said, panting with each step. They had stripped off their armor, but it hadn't seemed to help with the heat.

"We just have to… keep… walking…" Taichi said, almost falling asleep as he dragged his foot in front of the other to take another step.

"I can't believe this," Yamato said angrily, throwing down everything he was carrying. "I have brought entire armies to their knees, and today I'm being defeated by the God damned sun!" He held his fist up to the sky in fury.

"Shh, what's that sound?"

Taichi placed a hand on Yamato's chest to gently push him away from the middle of the road. Yamato was surprised that he didn't find the urge in himself to tell the brunette to shove off. It was rather comfortable, which was odd for a person who didn't usually enjoy having such casual bodily contact with others.

"It's not another wagon, is it?" Yamato asked.

Taichi shook his head, straining to hear before dashing out quickly to grab all of the things the blond had dropped. Yamato looked up and down the road but couldn't see or hear anything.

"What is it?" Yamato hissed; getting a little annoyed with the paranoid brunette.

Then he heard it, a low rumbling up ahead. The knights looked at each other, not sure what to think.

"Horses. A whole bunch of them," Taichi said. "What should we do? Who would be--"

"We can't fight in this condition, and we're not really in a position to bargain for anything," Yamato said.

"But if we had horses…"

"No, Taichi, we're too tired and they could be the kind of people that hate us," Yamato said.

"We should at least see who it is," Taichi replied, squinting up the road. They were just a cloud of dust at this point, but they were moving fast.

"It could be dangerous--"

"It might not be."

"Taichi, they're going to see us," Yamato insisted. They could almost pick out the individual riders now, and Yamato decided that this would be a good time to follow his instincts. He grabbed Taichi by the arm and flung both himself and the other knight into the ditch. The blond was surprised at Taichi's lack of rebuttal, but he couldn't be bothered with that right now.

The rumbling grew to an ear splitting level as the horsemen flew past, the knights huddling in the ditch and praying to God that they wouldn't be seen.

They waited until the hoof beats were almost out of earshot before they climbed out onto the road and dusted themselves off.

"Don't move!"

It was frustrating to them, the two best knights in the kingdom, to be caught in such situations just because the king couldn't spare a couple soldiers to rescue his little girl.

They turned around slowly to see that the riders had left one man behind; obviously they had not been quite as stealthy as they had hoped. The man had a sword pointed at them, watching them warily.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"We aren't a threat to you," Yamato said. "You should just move on."

"Who says we aren't a threat? That all depends on who you are."

"Taichi!" Yamato hissed. The brunette had a defiant look on his face that suggested he was about to do something rash. Yamato then decided that they were doomed.

"We're headed out of the country, but we don't plan to leave any witnesses behind, so I'm afraid you two have to be dealt with in some way," the man explained.

"We won't tell anyone. We don't even know who you are," Yamato said. He watched the tip of the sword as it inched toward his neck.

The man gave a dark chuckle. "I've met too many liars to even think about letting you live…"

He lunged, but so did Taichi. The clanking of swords created a cacophony that was startling but familiar as Yamato looked at the two brawling men in shock before he noticed someone else crawling out of the ditch on the opposite side of the road.

Two men – they had left two men behind. Smart on their part, but not so good for the knights. Yamato decided to act quickly and while the newcomer was attempting to sneak up behind Taichi, the blond punched him and he fell right back into the ditch, knocked out.

"And don't come back!" Taichi called as the man he had been fighting ran off, clutching a bleeding arm. Taichi turned to Yamato with a smirk. "I believe that's the _second_ time I've saved your ass today," he said.

"Yeah," Yamato replied sarcastically, glancing back at the forgotten soldier in the ditch. "My hero."

Taichi threw an arm around his shoulder. "I guess you're just going to admit what we both already know…"

"Which is?" Yamato said with a playful smile. Taichi looked at him and mirrored the expression, until he made contact with the blond's sparkling blue eyes and they both flushed for a reason unknown to either. They looked away, Taichi returning his arm to his side, and kept walking.


	4. Day 3, Part II: Revelations

**_Title:_**_ Fairytales Unlimited_

**_Author:_**_ Miss Takin_

**_Summary:_**_ The short tale of two knights, a kidnapped princess, an unhappily betrothed couple, two indecisive dukes, and the scandalous sidestories of kitchen maids and squires for your entertainment. Presenting, Fairytales Unlimited_

**_Chapter: _**_Day 3, Part II: Revelations  
_

**_A/N: _**_...yeah. Here's part two after over a year. If it didn't send out notifications, I updated the first three chapters of this story, so you should go back and check them out.  
_

**_Disclaimer:_**_ Toei owns Digimon and all related names, characters, items and locations. I don't. Also, don't expect me to be all historically correct. If someone does something that was impossible in the feudal era, just let it be.

* * *

_

Daisuke had been sulking all day.

It was on days like these that Takeru remembered why he was even Daisuke's friend in the first place. He just wasn't imaginative enough to come up with things to do on his own, so he let Daisuke drag him along while he kept up somewhat of a façade of cool reluctance. But now, Daisuke was sulking and Takeru was bored. Not for lack of trying on the blond's part, but Takeru didn't seem to be good at anything involving emotions.

They had just eaten a late lunch, somehow avoiding Hikari the whole time. This was a feat they had never truly achieved; but then again, they had never tried. As they trudged across the courtyard, Daisuke perked up and Takeru turned to see what he was looking at.

"Oh no…"

"Hey Ken!"

Takeru couldn't stop the brunette before he began stomping toward the other squire, fuming. Ken appeared to be going in the direction of the kitchens to do God-knows-what with Hikari, but he looked up in interest at the two other boys and stopped for a moment.

"You bastard!" Daisuke exclaimed. Ken was in such shock that he only barely dodged the punch that Daisuke threw at him.

"Daisuke, stop it!" Takeru said, scared that if he stepped in, Daisuke's fists would turn on him.

"Why are you --?" Ken began, another punch cutting him off.

"You got her pregnant!"

The shock Ken was in this time prevented him from dodging, and he went flying onto the ground. Rubbing his jaw tenderly, he looked up at Daisuke in a mix of fear and anger. "Look, you have the wrong guy," he said. "I haven't gotten anyone pregnant…"

Takeru took in a deep breath. He could see where this would go. People were starting to gravitate toward the scene of the fight, and Takeru could foresee a few embarrassing secrets having an audience.

"Yes, you did!" Daisuke shouted. "Hikari! _My_ Hikari!"

Ken's mouth moved but nothing came out.

"Daisuke, calm down," Takeru said. Murmurs were flying around the spectators who had come to watch. "This isn't the way you should be dealing with this."

"Well I'm not going to let this jerk just do this to her and get away with it!" Daisuke turned dangerously toward Takeru. "This is Hikari we're talking about--"

"Hikari's pregnant?!" Ken spluttered out finally.

There was a squeak and everyone turned to see said young woman watching in terror, her face an intense crimson red.

"Hikari!" the three squires said at the same time. She threw her hands up over her face and ran away. Ken and Daisuke immediately set off after her.

"Where do you think you're going?" Daisuke demanded, placing a rough hand on Ken's shoulder.

Ken shrugged it off angrily and said, "I am going to comfort the woman I love, if you don't mind."

Daisuke started throwing punches again, but this time Ken fought back and soon they were on the ground, punching and shouting monosyllabic insults and threats. Takeru decided he was fed up of Daisuke's temper and jumped in, trying to rip the two apart. The crowd began heckling and cheering.

"Hey!" barked a deep voice. The squires looked up as a short but intimidating young man pushed his way toward them.

"Duke Hida," Ken breathed, pushing the others away and dusting himself off.

Iori looked at them in disgust. "Are you aware that you are making a mockery of yourselves in the _King_'s courtyard?" he said, sounding a little bored despite his harsh tone. "All of you get out of here before I feel the need to mention this when I go to see him."

Ken threw a look over at Daisuke before he angrily trudged after Hikari, a sour expression on his face. The crowd was quickly dispersing, but Iori kept his eyes locked on Takeru and Daisuke.

"Let's go Iori, we're not here to teach squires how to show respect."

A taller man jerked his head toward the castle's main entrance and Iori gave one last look to the remaining crowd before he followed his fellow duke.

Takeru let out a long breath of relief. "We got off easy," he said. "Duke Hida's never shown a drop of mercy since he took over his father's land. Ken must've known him – he recognized him right away. I bet that was the only thing that saved us."

"Yeah… whatever…"

Takeru turned to Daisuke. "You can't just jump people like that. Nothing good comes of it."

Daisuke grumbled.

"Please promise me you'll deal with this without hurting anyone else. It's out of your hands now."

Daisuke rolled his eyes before he caught Takeru's. Reluctantly, he nodded. "I promise," he said.

Takeru knew Daisuke would do his best to stay true to his word, and he let out another sigh of relief before suggesting they go find something to do.

* * *

"Your Highness?"

Jyou stood before the throne, waiting as the King watched him quietly. Iori stood at the back of the hall, interested to see what would happen.

"Do you know why I asked you to meet me?"

Jyou looked down at his feet. "I have a vague idea, Your Highness."

The King smiled a little. "Regarding my daughter…"

Jyou made eye contact with the King with a grave look on his face, and he was surprised to see the King's eyes sparkling a little in amusement. "Yes?"

"I think that we should make the announcement upon my daughter's return. It seems appropriate."

Jyou gasped and brought his hand up to his chest. "Your Highness – I don't know what to say."

The King's smile widened. "I suppose there isn't much that needs to be said, other than to decide on a date for the wedding."

Jyou could hardly contain his joy as he nodded. "Thank you, Your Highness."

"What is it that you thought I brought you here to discuss?" the King asked in mild interest. It was quite plain to Iori that King Takenouchi had a great deal of love for his son-in-law-to-be, and he genuinely enjoyed speaking to the duke.

"Your Highness, it's nothing more than my worry for your daughter," Jyou said, a little falter in his voice.

The King nodded, but the smile remained. "I have faith in my knights."

Jyou nodded, but his eyes returned to his shoes. How could he have faith in two men he had never met?

"And I have faith in my daughter. She will return safely."

Jyou smiled up at him. "As do I."

The King nodded and gestured that he was free to go, and Jyou walked as calmly as he could down the hall. Iori followed him out the door, a smirk on his face; very aware of the feelings his friend was containing.

The door closed, and Jyou let out a hearty laugh, an exclamation of joy.

"I'm getting married!" he said, holding his arms wide as he looked down at Iori. "I'm finally getting married! Sora and I will be spending the rest of our lives together! No more hiding!"

Iori couldn't help but feel an immense happiness for his friend as the older man continued to rejoice in broken sentences.

Suddenly he turned to Iori with a bit of a shocked expression. "I'm getting married," he said. "Married." Finality in his voice suggested what Iori could see coming a mile away.

The young duke had to roll his eyes. "Oh for Heaven's sake, leave the worrying for later, Jyou. You're getting married."

Jyou placed his hands on either side of his face, and then he broke back into a smile. "I'm getting married!"

* * *

He was there. He had just come in the door, and she was watching from a safe distance away as he shrugged off a cloak. He was an impossibly tall man, the type that emanated sinister thoughts and made you shiver when he let his eyes slide over you.

Lord Vamdemon.

Sora had heard that it was Lord Vamdemon himself who had come into her room and snatched her away from her family, friends and fiancé, and so it was by default that she had at the least a strong dislike for him.

"Has she been found yet?" he asked in a smooth voice.

"No, my Lord," a soldier said, letting a bit of his fear slip out.

"Well how many places are there for a woman to hide?" Lord Vamdemon said. "Find her."

Sora took a deep breath and started creeping away. She would have to get over her immediate fear of him, and quickly.

* * *

"I have a question," Taichi said casually. Up until that point they had walked along in almost total silence, but obviously this had given Taichi some time to think, and to wonder about his comrade.

"Yes?" Yamato said.

Taichi sighed as the thought of how to word the question. "Well, you know how you said there's more than meets the eye?"

"… Yes, go on…"

"Do you think that's the case with me?" Taichi asked, looking intently at Yamato's face for some sort of reaction.

Yamato raised his eyebrows and glanced at the other knight. "That's hard to say. I don't really know you that well, after all."

"Oh come on, that's not true," the brunette said. "We've been alone together for two and a half days, except for that Princess Mimi incident" – he suppressed a giggle, much to the bane of Yamato – "and I've learned tons about you."

Now Yamato was interested. "Like what?"

"Like the fact that you're not actually heartless like people think you are, you just don't show how much you care when you don't have to. Like… you think things through, and that's what makes you a good knight. Like--"

"Where did you get all that?" Yamato asked, cutting him off before he had to hear anymore. All of this praise, especially coming from the other knight, was uncomfortable.

Taichi shrugged. "Just paying attention, I guess. You're a surprise around every turn, Ishida."

"Oh," Yamato said, looking away in slight bewilderment. Now he felt a little guilty for not paying attention to Taichi as well as the brunette had paid attention to him.

"You haven't answered my question," Taichi persisted.

Yamato looked back up at him. "I don't know, Taichi. I guess there's nothing about you that has really surprised me all that much."

He looked a little disappointed, and Yamato felt even more guilt. This was not the way he pictured this adventure going.

"You know, I'll prove it to you," Taichi said.

"What?" Yamato asked, clueless.

Taichi smirked. "I'll prove to you that I'm not what people think I am. I know that you probably think I'm an attention-seeking jerk, but I'll prove that I'm more by the time we're done. I don't know how, but you'll see."

"I don't think you're an attention-seeking jerk." Yamato was in a tough position. He had not re-evaluated what he thought of the other knight, and now as he began, he couldn't sort his thoughts out long enough to tell what exactly it was that he did think now.

Taichi smiled at him. "Doesn't matter. You'll see."

* * *

Ken and Hikari sat in the garden, glancing awkwardly at anything that wasn't the other person. The interchanges they had exchanged were brief and overwhelmingly lackluster, and now Ken picked at the grass as Hikari held a hand over her stomach and just listened to the ripping greenery at her left.

"Hikari--"

"We have to go see my father."

Ken looked up at her, staring at her face for some hint of emotion. The majority was sadness, but he had yet to find it in himself why this was such an unfortunate event. He only knew that it was what it was.

"Yes, I suppose we do," he replied.

Hikari clenched her eyes shut for a moment and then looked up at him with glassy eyes. "Ken, I know you probably didn't want to marry me, but it's inevitable now. I wasn't going to tell you until I had made up my mind…" She buried her face in her hands. "I feel like I've ruined your life. I'm so sorry…"

Ken was shocked. He placed a hand on her arm and brought himself closer, feeling a need to wrap her up in his arms and keep her safe.

"You haven't ruined my life Hikari… it's just happening a bit faster than I expected, that's all. I guess all of my procrastinating really came back to haunt us," he told her, making sure she was looking into his eyes to see that he was genuine.

She sighed and stood up, dusting off her skirt. "Tomorrow then. First thing in the morning, we should go see my father. We'll keep this" – she rubbed her stomach absently – "our little secret until after we're married. I don't need him to hear about it beforehand… I can't even imagine…"

Ken smirked and stood up. "For now, perhaps it's best to get as much sleep as possible. If we're going to see him, I should be as prepared as I can be."

Hikari smiled sweetly at him and they parted without another word.

* * *

"Stop struggling, girl. Or I'll yell."

Sora struggled. She dug her heels into the carpet and pulled with all her might against the hand on her wrist.

"I said _stop struggling_. Neither of us wants me to yell. I'll be a hero if I bring you to Lord Vamdemon by myself, and if I have to yell for back-up, you don't even want to think about what will happen when those other guys see I have you."

"I won't give up!" Sora hissed, careful to keep her voice down. No, she didn't want him to yell, but she didn't want him to be a hero either. There was a distinct conflict of interests between them, and it revealed itself with each labored step he took towards Lord Vamdemon's personal chambers.

"Then I'll yell."

"No--"

Sora threw herself down on the ground, making the guard wobble in his next step. Taking this opportunity, she closed her hand around his wrist and pulled him down with her.

He yelled.

She grabbed the sword he had stolen from her, got up and started down the hall, but he was still yelling behind her. She heard his footsteps start up – he was running after her. She didn't know what to do, her heart was racing and her eyes bounced from wall to floor to other wall looking for something – anything.

Torches. Fancy fixtures on the wall, but it was fire. She reached up, broke off a burning piece of wood, threw it back at the guard and brought her arms up to cover her face.

There was a horrified yelp, and she lowered her arms.

He was running in the opposite direction, calling out warnings. The fire was spreading, and it was spreading fast. The rugs were old and dried out – doors were made of wood that hadn't seen water for years. Everything about the castle was dry and ready to burn, and it did.

Sora ran as fast as her legs could carry her, back towards the entrance, coughing on smoke that was quickly seeping its way through the labyrinth of passageways. She ran until finally, she found the grand entranceway. Fire had already reached it. It seemed she had gone the long way around. The flames were almost close enough to lick at the huge double doors, which had already been opened by retreating soldiers.

Finally, she had found her escape.

"Not so fast, Princess."

The color drained from her face, and she turned to see a giant shadow of a man standing across the entrance hall. She stopped dead – he was closer to the door.

"Did you think I would give you up this easily? Let this castle burn, I still want that throne."

Now, he was between her and the door.

She took a deep breath, letting it out shakily. "Let me out," she demanded, though not as forcefully as she would have liked.

His lips curved into a disgusting smile. "No," he replied. "I'm afraid I can't allow that."

He took a step toward her.


	5. Day 4: Conclusion

**_Title:_**_ Fairytales Unlimited_

**_Author:_**_ Miss Takin_

**_Summary:_**_ The short tale of two knights, a kidnapped princess, an unhappily betrothed couple, two indecisive dukes, and the scandalous sidestories of kitchen maids and squires for your entertainment. Presenting, Fairytales Unlimited_

**_Chapter: _**_Day 4: Conclusion  
_

**_A/N: _**_The final day of our adventure! Surprises ensue. Still an epilogue to come after this.  
_

**_Disclaimer:_**_ Toei owns Digimon and all related names, characters, items and locations. I don't. Also, don't expect me to be all historically correct. If someone does something that was impossible in the feudal era, just let it be.

* * *

_

And then he ran at her, a crazed look in his eye, his footsteps too quick to hear.

She was scared, but there was no time to admit it. Letting out a scream, she held up her sword at the last moment—

The next thing she could register was the blood seeping down the sword's handle and onto her hands, as she lay on her back, Lord Vamdemon's lifeless body half covering her own. The fire was hot around them, and her eyes widened in realization. She pushed the corpse away, hands shaking as she stood up and ran out the door.

* * *

"Miyako, look!"

Miyako's eyes fluttered open and she turned to look in the direction Princess Mimi was pointing.

"What's that glow from?" she wondered aloud.

"Tell the driver to head in that direction. I want to see what it is."

* * *

"You have got to stop picking thorn bushes as bathrooms," Yamato grumbled, woken up a few moments before by a surprised yelp.

"Hey, it's not… my…"

"What? It's not your what?" The blond propped himself up on his elbow to look over at his companion, but the brunette was staring off into the distance.

"Something's glowing. It looks like fire," Taichi stated, his brow furrowing.

"That looks like…"

Yamato and Taichi met each other's eyes.

"We better get going."

* * *

The fire was still burning when Princess Mimi's caravan approached the ruined castle. By that time, Prince Koushiro had woken up and all three passengers had their heads hanging out the windows, peering curiously at the flames.

"Mimi, look!"

Koushiro thrust out his hand, a finger pointed in the direction of a person – a young woman running toward them.

"Driver, stop!" Mimi called, and moments later the long train ground to a halt. Miyako was the first to step out onto the road.

"Please, you have to help me!" the young woman said. She held out her hands, traces of dried blood still there.

Miyako began to ask if she was alright, but the woman kept going. "My name is Sora – I'm the princess of the Takenouchi Kingdom. Please, you must help me get home!"

Miyako looked back at Mimi, who then looked at Koushiro. Koushiro glanced at the coming sunrise.

"The castle's not that far from here," he said. Mimi smiled excitedly.

"Really? We're going to help her?"

"Of course. If she's the King's daughter, this will be good for relations between countries. Not to mention it would be horrible to send her back on foot."

Mimi rolled her eyes. "Bring her in here, Miyako," she called. "We're taking her back home."

* * *

"Are you ready?"

Ken sighed and closed the saddle bag, patting the horse's flank a couple times before looking at his bride-to-be. "I think so," he replied.

"Don't be nervous," Hikari told him. "My father isn't a scary man. I'm sure he'll be happy to have you as part of the family."

"Oh, thank God, we thought we'd missed you."

Takeru appeared in the doorway of the stable, a broad grin of relief on his face. Daisuke was behind him, but opted to mope, slumping against the frame. Ken saw the brunette and gingerly touched the bruise on his jaw.

Hikari frowned. "You two. I'm not going to have you fighting for the rest of your lives." She crossed her arms and set her hip stubbornly. "We're not leaving until you make up."

"Hikari," Ken began, but she cut him off with a look that said 'you got me pregnant, you owe me' – and he could read it crystal clear.

Ken stepped toward Daisuke and held out his hand. "Please accept my apology," he said.

Daisuke watched him carefully. "I can't forgive you for taking Hikari away from me," he huffed, "but since you're the guy that's going to be taking care of her for the rest of her life; I guess I can learn to put up with you." He grabbed Ken's hand and shook it enthusiastically. "But if you hurt her" – his grip tightened – "I'll have to kill you."

Ken blinked, and then his lips curved into a soft smile. "Thank you."

"No problem," Daisuke replied, letting go of the other squire's hand and giving him a friendly pat on the shoulder. "I'm just glad I'm not the one dealing with her dad." Breaking into laughter, Daisuke turned away to rejoin Takeru. Ken paled a little more.

"Oh, I almost forgot…" Hikari turned toward her friends as Ken climbed up on the horse. "If my brother comes back before I do, could you tell him about all this?" She clambered up behind her lover with a sheepish smile on her face. "Thanks!"

Ken dug his heels in and they were off.

"WHAT?! She expects us to tell Taichi about – about that?!"

Daisuke fell to his knees, his head in his hands.

"Yeah, and since you're his squire, I think you should do it," Takeru said as he inched toward the door.

"Are you kidding?! Do you know what his reaction will be?! He'll freak out! I'll have to do five times the work I do already!"

"Yup. That sounds about right."

Daisuke looked up at Takeru, who by this time had crept far enough away to make a break for the squire's quarters. And that's exactly what he did, Daisuke in hot pursuit.

* * *

When the two knights saw the smoldering remains of the castle, later that morning, their hearts sunk.

It was horrible. It was death. It was failure.

Taichi fell to his knees.

"No…"

Yamato was speechless.

"Everything's…"

"The castle burned down."

"She's…"

Yamato managed to pick up his feet and walk by Taichi, toward the fallen walls. Small fires still burned in some places, and he stomped one of them out stiffly. He turned to look back at his companion.

"Yamato… what if she's…?"

The blond set his jaw and scanned the area again. "I don't know."

"Shit… shit, shit, shit, shit, shit…"

Yamato turned around abruptly, glaring at the brunette. "What? What are you worried about?"

"What do you mean, what am I worried about? We have to go back to the King and tell him his daughter is missing and most likely _dead_," Taichi spat. "You think I want to do that?"

Yamato rolled his eyes. "You mean this isn't about missing out on your free pass to the throne?"

Taichi's expression changed quickly, offended. "You think I wanted to _marry_ her? That was never what this was about!"

"Then what was this about, Taichi?"

"Doing my job! Keeping the kingdom safe!"

"You can't tell me it never crossed your mind!"

Yamato didn't know why, but he felt betrayed by that thought. If Taichi was keeping a secret like that from him all this time… it was unfair.

"No, it didn't!"

Yamato wasn't satisfied with that answer. Any man in the kingdom with half a brain would have wanted to marry Princess Sora. Sure, she wasn't exactly _his_ type, but Taichi… Taichi must have wanted to get to the throne with this mission.

"Taichi, that doesn't make any sense. Why else would you agree to do this?"

"I told you!"

Yamato threw his arms up in the air. He was frustrated, upset, and he didn't know why. "So are you an idiot or do you just not like women?"

"I--"

And there was that pregnant pause, that fatal blush that spread across Taichi's cheeks. Yamato caught it. He'd have to be blind to miss it.

"You don't like women."

Yamato buried his hands in his own hair and sat down on a fallen cornerstone.

"It's not like that! I just… never… it's not like that!"

"Taichi, just shut up…"

Taichi hung his head, his mind racing at the thought of their failed mission, the most likely dead princess, and this new secret of his Yamato had dug up. That secret could mean the end of his career – the end of his life.

Yamato got up to pace. Taichi tried to think of a way to figure this out, but everything at once was too overwhelming.

"What are we going to…"

"I said shut up!"

Yamato grabbed the front of Taichi's shirt and drew him in close, his blue eyes piercing right through the brunette. He wasn't angry at Taichi, and on some level Taichi knew that. But he still got defensive.

"You don't get it, Taichi. We're fucked because we got to be the lucky ones to find this. Not only do we have to go back with the bad news, but we have to find some way to give it to the King that won't end in our death!"

Taichi tried to splutter out a response, but he was blushing again. Yamato let go of his shirt and pushed him so hard he fell to the ground, unprepared.

"You idiot. What's your problem, anyway?"

"I'm obviously not the one with the problem, Ishida," Taichi countered. "At least I know I have anger issues!"

"I don't have anger issues!"

"Then why are you yelling at me!?"

"Because I--"

Yamato couldn't think of an answer, so he let out a frustrated shout instead.

Taichi got up and brushed the dust and ash off his pants. "Let's just go back. The sooner we get back, the sooner we break the news, and the sooner the King decides what to do with us."

Silently, Yamato complied, starting down the road, a metaphorical thundercloud trailing him.

"Yamato, wait."

"What?" Yamato snapped.

Taichi gave him a frustrated look and then pointed to a small building beside the ruins of the castle.

"Stables," Yamato said. And with that, their defeat got a little lighter.

* * *

"How horrible it must have been, all alone in there!"

Mimi and Miyako were sitting on either side of Sora, watching her with wide, sparkling eyes. A fairytale, that's what this was. Sora was the noble damsel, fighting for her life against all odds. The girls were enthralled.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Miyako asked for what must have been the hundredth time.

"Yes, I'm alright now," Sora reassured her. She smiled shyly at both of them, keeping her hands daintily in her lap.

"Mimi, leave her alone," Koushiro said, from the other side of the carriage.

Mimi shot him a dirty look. "Shut up, you want to hear about just as much as we do." Koushiro rolled his eyes. Mimi turned back to Sora. "It must have been so terrifying, fighting that evil man."

"Yes, but I escaped and I'm alright now," Sora told them. She was much too shaken to go into detail about her last few hours in the castle. She just wanted to get home, back into the loving arms of her family, her fiancé, back into her nice warm bed.

"Why didn't you wait for the knights to come and rescue you?" Miyako asked.

"Knights?" Sora said.

"Oh, yes!" Mimi said. "Sir Taichi and Sir Yamato! They were on a quest to rescue a princess! It must have been you!"

"I… didn't really think about that," Sora replied sheepishly. "Father sent Sir Taichi and Sir Yamato after me?"

"Oh yes, and they were both so handsome too!" said Miyako. "Will you still marry one of them?"

"Marry?" Sora giggled. "I'm already engaged."

"What?!" both girls said at once.

"Yes, to a duke. We'll be getting married soon, I hope."

"But the princess is supposed to marry the knight in shining armor! The one who saves her from evil! That's how it is in all the stories," Miyako said.

"Well… they didn't really save me, I suppose," Sora said. "I hope they're alright."

"Those two? I'm sure they're fine." Mimi dismissed the sentiment and sat back in her seat with a sigh. "I wouldn't worry about them."

* * *

Taichi and Yamato weren't hurrying as they sat in their stolen saddles on the way back. Both were unusually quiet. Yamato was still trying to cool down and Taichi was giving him the silence he needed. But there was something he needed to ask.

"You… aren't going to tell the King, are you?"

"About what," Yamato asked, his voice flat, irritable.

"About me… being…"

"Why would I tell him that."

"Well I'm you're only real competition," Taichi said. "And the King would definitely dismiss me if he found out."

"I'm not going to tell him that you don't like women."

"Why not? That makes it so easy for you!"

"Who said I wanted it to be easy?" Yamato said. "Besides, it would be stupid for you to be dismissed for something like that."

Taichi sighed. "Thanks." He let the silence settle for just a moment before he spoke again. "I guess that means you would have gotten to marry her, then."

"I didn't want to marry her."

"You didn't? But any guy with half a brain would want to marry her. She's the princess."

"Well I didn't!" Yamato snapped. He turned cold eyes in Taichi's direction for a moment, causing Taichi to lean away instinctively.

"You know it's not my fault this happened. Being angry at me isn't going to solve anything."

"Since when were you the voice of reason?"

"Someone has to be!"

Yamato hunched his shoulders and snapped at the reins to make his horse pick up the pace.

"Hey, wait!"

"Why should I wait for you?" said the blond. "You've been dragging me down this whole trip."

Taichi couldn't answer immediately. He stopped a few curses before finally forming a sentence. "I've been—You really do think I'm just an attention-seeking jerk, don't you?"

"That's not what I said!"

"Then what is it?!"

Yamato stopped his horse abruptly, jumped off, and then reached up to grab the front of Taichi's shirt, pulling with enough force to drag Taichi down to the ground. Then, he punched him.

Taichi fought back quickly, tripping Yamato so that they were grappling together in the dirt. Punches landed with sick thuds as the each knight struggled for dominance over the other. Curses flew and were lost to the air between them. And something happened – something so sudden Taichi could barely register Yamato's lips were on his. When he finally did realize, he pushed Yamato away and stared up at him, bewildered.

"Wha…?"

"I just never either," Yamato said, looking back down at him with that cold, hard stare that Taichi had never realized was so intense.

After a thick moment of silence, Taichi grabbed the back of Yamato's neck and pulled him down, forcing their lips together again. At this point, the least they were returning to was an entire country in mourning because of the news they were bringing. Taichi couldn't find a good reason not to make out with Yamato in the middle of the road , so why the hell not?

Maybe this was just what they needed.

* * *

The call was made early in the evening. Dusk was only just starting to fall, but when the call was heard, everyone in the castle was up and running. A few younger knights were sent out to meet the lone carriage making its way toward the castle, and Duke Jyou insisted on being among them. On their way out, the carriage stopped and Princess Sora stepped out and ran to meet him, and as soon as he saw her he jumped off his horse and caught her in his arms.

"I missed you," she whispered into his ear, right before she caught his lips in a long-awaited kiss.

Roughly an hour later, everyone was settled. Prince Koushiro and Princess Mimi were enjoying an audience with King Takenouchi, and Princess Sora had washed and put on a new dress, holding Jyou's hand as they sat in the King's lush common room.

"You must come to our wedding," Sora said. "We'd love to have you."

"We'd love to come!" Mimi replied, barely glancing at Koushiro to gauge whether or not this was true. "When will it be?"

Sora looked at her father, who was smiling gently. "We shouldn't waste any time, don't you think?" he said. "I'd say a month would be long enough to make the preparations."

Jyou squeezed Sora's hand and she turned to smile at him.

"We'll be there," Koushiro said.

Mimi and Sora shared an excited smile.

"We'll be happy to have you, Prince Koushiro," King Takenouchi said.

"Oh, father," Sora began. "Did Sir Taichi and Sir Yamato return?"

"No, they did not. I'm sure they'll be back soon. Those two are my best knights."

"I hope they're alright."

"I wouldn't worry about them."

* * *

"Stop it, he doesn't like that kind!"

"Well that's the only kind we have!" Daisuke snapped, looking around at Miyako.

"You must have something else!"

"No, because we don't have stupid, picky horses!"

Miyako threw her hands in the air in frustration. "If he gets sick on the way home…"

"What are you going to do?" Daisuke said, rolling his eyes. "You'll be too far away to do anything to me by then."

"If I beat you now we won't have that problem."

Takeru stifled a giggle.

"What are you laughing at, Takaishi?"

"Nothing, nothing."

Daisuke looked back at Miyako. "Stop tapping your foot, you're driving me insane!"

"Good!" Miyako said. "You know, you should really show me more respect! I'm Princess Mimi's personal handmaid, after all."

"That doesn't mean anything here, _miss_," Daisuke said.

"Okay, okay," Takeru finally said. "Cut it out, you two. I think we can all be a little more mature about--"

"She's the one that needs to be more mature!"

"Me?! You're the stubborn brat!"

Takeru rolled his eyes and gave up. He couldn't wait until his brother got home and there was more to do than feed horses all day.

* * *

It was much later that evening when Taichi and Yamato returned to the castle. As they approached, they could see bright lights in the courtyard, and they looked at each other in confusion.

"What do you think they're doing?" Taichi asked.

"I don't know…" Yamato replied. They picked up the pace.

When they entered the courtyard, they were greeted with the excitement of a party – everyone who lived in the castle was gathered there; drinking, talking, and dancing. On a raised platform opposite them were three chairs – the guests of honor.

"Is that…?"

The knights gave each other bewildered, embarrassed looks, and then they looked back up at Princess Sora. She had a radiant smile on her face as she talked to the young man at her left.

"Duke Kido," Yamato said. "I had no idea."

Taichi ran a hand through his hair and smiled sheepishly at the blond. "Guess neither of us really had a chance anyway, huh?"

Yamato whacked the back of Taichi's head in annoyance, but gave him a light smirk anyway.

"Sir Taichi!"

Taichi turned to see Daisuke running through the crowd toward them. Takeru was close behind. Taichi acknowledged him with a nod when he stopped in front of him.

"Sir Taichi, welcome back! I gotta tell you, it's been really boring around here without any work to do. Not that I'm saying I want more work, but I'm just saying it's been boring, you know?"

Taichi nodded, not really listening to Daisuke rambling as Takeru shepherded Yamato away from them. The two knights shared a brief glance before paying attention to their respective squires.

"—I mean, what kind of horse only likes one type of grain anyway?" Daisuke laughed.

"Uh-huh," Taichi replied. "Ah, Daisuke, have you seen my sister?" he asked, scanning the crowd. "Shouldn't she be here?"

"O-oh. Well, about that." Daisuke became uncharacteristically quiet, and Taichi furrowed his eyebrows.

Elsewhere, Takeru was pulling Yamato away from the brunettes, just to ensure they'd both be safe when Daisuke broke the news.

"Wait, Takeru," Yamato said, stopping in his tracks. "Takeru, I have something I need to…" he paused, staring across the courtyard. "What is she doing here?!"

"Who?" Takeru looked around at the woman who had just noticed them and was making her way toward them. "Oh, that's uh… Princess Mimi, I think her name was. She and her husband are the ones that brought Princess Sora back."

"They did?"

"Sir Yamato!" Mimi called, approaching them. "It's so good to see you again!"

"The, ah, the pleasure is mine, Princess Mimi."

"I guess you and Sir Taichi missed out on your chances with Princess Sora," she giggled. "Sorry about that."

"It's alright, I think we'll both be fine, Princess--"

"_SHE WHAT_?!"

Back at the entrance to the courtyard, Taichi had his hands buried in his hair, pulling at it as his face got redder and redder. His mouth was hanging open unattractively as Daisuke stood before him, praying for an excuse to get out of there. The crowd in the courtyard had gone quiet, and all eyes were on them. Princess Sora giggled.

Yamato turned back to Princess Mimi. "I'm sorry, Princess. I should go make sure he doesn't… hurt anyone…"

The blond knight hurried off to help Daisuke escort Taichi out of the courtyard and back to his quarters, where the issue could be dealt with. The party continued on.

"I'm glad they came back safely," Sora said softly. "And they seem to be on much better terms than they were before. Was that your plan all along, father?"

King Takenouchi just smiled.

The party continued on.


End file.
